Waves Face Virginia in NCAA Second Round
11/14/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
This Week: The No. 11 Pepperdine women's soccer team continues NCAA Tournament play with a second-round matchup against No. 12 Virginia this Friday at UCLA. The winner will move on to the Sweet 16 and face either No. 4 UCLA or Northwestern on Sunday.
Game #21: Friday (Nov. 17) at Drake Stadium (UCLA) in Los Angeles, Calif.: Pepperdine (15-2-3) vs. Virginia (12-5-4) at 5 p.m.
Multimedia: Friday's game will be streamed live and have live stats available. Links to the broadcast and live stats will be accessible on the Pepperdine soccer schedule page at PepperdineWaves.com. Fans can follow @WavesSoccer on Twitter for live, in-game updates.
Last Time Out: The Waves opened the NCAA Tournament at home against the Big West Champions Cal State Fullerton last Saturday, beating the Titans 1-0 thanks to a spectacular 87th minute goal from Bri Visalli.
Series vs. Virginia: Pepperdine is 0-1-1 all-time against UVA. The teams have played the last two years. 2015 saw a 2-2 draw in Malibu and then Pepperdine fell at Virginia last year, 2-0.
NCAA Tournament: The Waves are making their 10th NCAA Tournament appearance and their fifth in the last seven years. Pepperdine's furthest run has been to the Sweet 16 three times (2002, 2005, 2014). Pepperdine has advanced past the first round seven times in its history now, including three of the last four seasons. The Waves last played an NCAA Tournament game at UCLA in 2014, beating Illinois State in the second round and then falling to UCLA in the Sweet 16. Pepperdine advanced to second round last year with a win in PK's over Cal, before falling to NC State in the second round.
Title Town: Pepperdine earned its first back-to-back WCC titles in program history this year. The 2017 title was the fourth-ever for the Waves, and the first one that was won outright. Pepperdine went 8-0-1 in the WCC and outscored opponents 29-1.
On the Defensive: Pepperdine has featured one of the top defensive units in the country this year, going into this weekend ranking third in the nation and first in the WCC with a 0.29 goals against average. The Waves have posted 14 shutouts this season, setting the program record. They've had scoreless streaks of 537 and 338 minutes earlier this year and are currently working on a stretch of 546 minutes. Pepperdine has allowed just one goal since Sept. 17.
Waves in the Rankings: Pepperdine currently sits at No. 11 in the Coaches Poll and 13th in RPI. The Waves are also ranked No. 9 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll and No. 12 in the Soccer America rankings. Pepperdine is ranked No. 3 in the West Region coaches poll.
WCC Honors: Bri Visalli became the program's first-ever WCC Player of the Year. Hailey Harbison became the program's first-ever WCC Defensive Player of the Year. Brielle Preece became the second straight Wave to earn WCC Goalkeeper of the Year. Tim Ward earned WCC Coach of the Year for the second straight year and the fifth time overall. The Waves won four of the five major awards.
Harbison, Preece and Visalli made the All-WCC first team. Joelle Anderson, Meagan Harbison, Christina Settles and Jamie Van Horn were All-WCC second team. Joelle Anderson and Calista Reyes were WCC All-Freshman honorees.
On a Roll: The Waves are currently riding a 14-game unbeaten streak dating back to Sept. 8. They haven't allowed a goal in the last 546 minutes. The team's nine wins in a row earlier as part of this stretch set a program record, and the team's 14 shutouts this year set the program record as well. The team has given up just one goal since Sept. 17 and outscored opponents 29-1 in WCC play this year. Pepperdine has outshot its last four opponents 104-12.
Visalli in the Record Books: Senior midfielder Bri Visalli leads the WCC with 14 goals, which is tied for second in Pepperdine single-season history. She's also seventh all-time at Pepperdine with 25 career goals. She is second on the career list with 14 game-winning goals, and her six this year set the Pepperdine single-season record. She's set Pepperdine records for penalty kicks in a season (six) and career (seven). She tied the Pepperdine all-time field player records for games played (82) and games started (80) last Saturday in the NCAA Tournament first-round game against Cal State Fullerton.
In Net: Brielle Preece has been spectacular in net so far this season for the Waves, currently leading the WCC in goals against average (0.29) and save percentage (.910). Preece is on pace to break both program single-season marks for the Waves and has set the Pepperdine single-season record with 14 solo shutouts this year.
Players of the Week: Four Waves earned WCC Player of the Week honors: Brielle Preece (Sept. 11 after a shutout win at Northwestern), Bri Visalli (Oct. 16 after a hat trick vs. Gonzaga), Joelle Anderson (Oct. 23 after three goals vs. BYU and San Diego) and Jamie Van Horn (Nov. 6 after the WCC-clinching win vs. Portland).
Notable results:
Drawing the Bruins: Pepperdine picked up a thrilling draw at then-top-ranked UCLA earlier this year. Jamie Van Horn scored the equalizing goal in the 77th minute.
Beating the Broncos: Pepperdine's 5-0 win at Santa Clara gave the Waves their first-ever road win in the series between the teams. Neither team had won a road game in the series since 2000. The 5-0 victory was also the worst loss at home for the perennial powerhouse since 2008.
Dominating Pacific: Pepperdine beat Pacific in record-setting fashion, 9-0, setting the program mark for most goals and margin of victory against a Division I opponent. The Waves' six first-half goals were the most ever scored in a half by a Pepperdine team.
Pounding Portland: The Waves had their biggest margin of victory ever against Portland in a 4-0 win that wrapped up the WCC title.
NCAA Opener: Pepperdine opened the NCAA Tournament against Big West Champions Cal State Fullerton, picking up a 1-0 win thanks to a spectacular 87th minute goal from Bri Visalli.
The Road Ahead: The Pepperdine-Virginia winner will face either first-seeded UCLA or Northwestern. That match would be hosted by UCLA on Sunday.
Tim Ward: Ward picked up his fifth WCC Coach of the Year award, his second in a row and third in the last four years this season. He is in his 20th year at the helm for Pepperdine. He has guided the Waves to a fourth conference title and 10th NCAA Tournament appearance. Ward entered 2016 with 219 career wins and as the winningest coach in program history. Including 2017, he has overseen 16 winning seasons and has led the Waves to 14 10-win seasons and 10 years with at least 12 wins.
2017 Roster: Pepperdine returns 18 players from its 2016 roster and brings in an 11-player freshman class. The Waves lost 10 players from last year's roster.
25th Anniversary: Pepperdine women's soccer is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and to commemorate the program's silver season, the Waves are releasing messages on social media from various alumni. To check out the messages follow the Waves on @WavesSoccer via Twitter, Pepperdine Women's Soccer on Facebook or head to PepperdineWaves.com.
About Pepperdine University: Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports - one of just 18 schools to have accomplished this feat - and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment and is the only school not affiliated with a BCS-level conference. The Waves have earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #46 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
